Monthly Archives: November 2010

In case you don’t follow Marcus Thompson (or Feltbot) on Twitter, the news is in: Monta Ellis was seen shooting before the game, and is apparently playing against the Knicks. (Nod to rggblog for the heads-up.)

I guess things were going too well for the Warriors 7 games into the season, what with only two major injuries so far. That Monta Ellis injury looked scary. I’m going to put the Warriors fan hair-pulling on hold for now. I just hope he’s ok.

If it weren’t for that injury, I would have been beyond pleased with this win. Monta Ellis had a beautiful game on both sides of the ball, and his efficient offense — 28 points on 10-17 — was largely the reason the Warriors surged to a 19 point lead in the third quarter. And Stephen Curry’s extraordinary playmaking ability and supernatural clutchness down the stretch sealed the win. His rustiness showed in some bad turnovers. His bad ankles showed in his matador defense on Jarret Jack, who abused him for 24 points on 7-13. But Curry’s ability to pour in 34 points on 12-21 shooting, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter when it counted the most, while playing hurt is… I mean what can you really say about it? You just have to watch. Curry scored in the fourth quarter in almost every fashion imaginable, spot up threes, pull back Js off the dribble, crafty slow-motion forays into the lane. On one leg.

I’ve got news for Warriors fans. This Warriors team is better than the Utah Jazz, and will remain better than the Utah Jazz for the forseeable future. The Warriors played just about as bad an offensive game as they possibly could, and yet dominated this game in every way except on the scoreboard. 52 rebounds to 46. 21 offensive rebounds to 10. The last time it was mentioned, late in the fourth quarter, the Warriors had 24 second chance points to Utah’s 8. But the biggest disparity of all was this: 93 shots to 76 shots. The only reason Utah even stayed in this game was that the Warriors couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean. They finished the game shooting 38%.

It’s silly, I know. A home win against Memphis. But when you’re ready, you’re ready. And I’m ready, four games into the season, to make my call. This Warriors team — picked by virtually all the pundits to finish last or next to last in the Pacific — is going to the playoffs.

A game like this doesn’t deserve a full recap. I’ll keep my remarks to a pointed minimum:

One game after heaping praise on Keith Smart, I’m going to take some back. First the disclaimer: There is not a team in the league that should be able to beat these Lakers except the Miami Heat. Once they picked up Matt Barnes and Steve Blake, their last remaining weaknesses disappeared. It is unfair how great they are. The Warriors as presently constituted should NEVER beat them.